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Attorney-General Philip Ruddockï¿½has announced the appointment of Justice Peter Jacobson as a judge of the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island. Justice Jacobson will undertake his role on the Supreme Court of Norfolk Island on a part-time basis while continuing to hold his office as a judge of the Federal Court of Australia. Justice Jacobson has been a judge of the Federal Court since 2002.

Theï¿½Federal Magistrates Court Amendment Rules 2007 (No.1) include a number of miscellaneous amendments to the Federal Magistrates Court Rules 2001.

The most significant of which include:

>> amendments to remove the prescription, by schedule, of forms for use in the Federal Magistrates Court. The amendments will enable forms to be approved by the chief federal magistrate.

>> consequential amendments to the terminology used in the Rules for dispute resolution to accord with the terminology in the Federal Magistrates Act 1999 and the Family Law Act 1975 as amended by the Family Law Amendment (Shared Parental Responsibility) Act 2006.

>>ï¿½amendments to enable the filing of a statement of claim (points of claim) or defence (points of defence) rather than a supporting affidavit, in proceedings other than family law or child support.

>> new rules to introduce a new form â Application in a case for those applications seeking interim, procedural, ancillary or interlocutory orders, after commencement of proceedings.

>> an amendment to introduce time limits for the service of an application and any document filed, of no less thanï¿½three days before the day fixed for the hearing of an application in a case; or no less thanï¿½seven days before the day fixed for the hearing of any other application.

>>ï¿½new rules in relation to child support proceedings which include applications for child maintenance. These new rules facilitate determination of such matters, where possible, on the first return date and include rules in relation to appeals from the Social Security Appeals Tribunalï¿½consistent with recent legislative amendments to child support legislation.

Applications for appointment as senior counsel for 2007 close at 5.00pm today, 31 July 2007. The principles governing selection and appointment of senior counsel are set out in the Senior Counsel Protocol, a copy of which is available on the Bar Associationâs web site.

Senior Counsel will be appointed by me but selected by a committee comprising the senior vice-president and myself ex-officio, Stephen Robb QC, Luigi Lamprati SC and James Stevenson SC.

Applications should be made as follows:

1. On or after 1 July 2007 applicants should inform me, in writing, of their intention to seek appointment. Applicants may include any particulars they wish the selection committee to take into account. The letter should also include a copy of the cover sheet.

Applicants should include in their application notice of any matter or circumstances, either past or anticipated, which may adversely affect their fitness and propriety to hold an appointment as senior counsel. Applicants will be required to give their consent to the selection committee making inquiries of the legal services commissioner about such matter or circumstances.

Any application received by the Bar Association after 5.00pm today will not be considered.

2. Limited information from each application will be distributed to a large consultation group during the selection process. It will therefore be impossible to keep confidential the fact or the basic details of applications that are sent out in the consultation process. The consultation group does not receive the full application lodged by each applicant.

3. The list of applicants will be held by me. This list is not available for general circulation.

4. An e-mail acknowledging the receipt of applications will be sent to each candidate. If you have not received an e-mail acknowledging your application by Thursday 2 August, please contact Ms Jo Carlisle at The New South Wales Bar Association on ph: (9229 1735) or jcarlisle@nswbar.asn.au.

5. Some additional guidance as to the selection process is provided on the Bar Associationâs website for the information of prospective applicants and interested members of the public. If after consulting the website the prospective applicant has a difficulty with any aspect of the application process I can be contacted about the matter before applications close on 31 July.

6. On receipt of the list of applicants, the Senior Counsel Selection Committee will consult with members of the Bar, the Bench and solicitors in accordance with the Senior Counsel Protocol.

7. The names of successful applicants will be announced on or before Friday 5 October 2007.

The attention of practitioners is drawn to the provisions of ss60I and 60J, which were inserted into the Family Law Act 1975 by the Family Law Amendment (Shared Parental Responsibility) Act 2006. These provisions set out arrangements for prefiling family dispute resolution.

Applicants wishing to apply for an order under Part VII of the Familyï¿½Law Act 1975, will be required to provide a certificate from aï¿½registered family dispute resolution practitioner, unless there is an exception to this requirement under section 60I(5) or (9).

Uniform Court Rules as to expert evidence were introduced in December 2006. Part 31.19 of the rules provides that any litigant seeking to adduce expert evidence must seek directions from the court.

The Equity Division has instituted an Expert Evidence List before Hamilton J at 9.00am each Wednesday. Any case in which expert evidence is to be called is to be referred to this list for directions concerning that evidence.

Generally the direction as to valuation evidence in Family Provision Act and Property Relationships Act cases will be that the parties obtain estate agents estimates (which will be admitted in those cases under the practice of the court). Full valuations must not be obtained except by special direction of the court.

Consent orders may be submitted no later than Monday to Hamilton J's associate at kkucera@courts.nsw.gov.auï¿½ If they are approved, they will be made without attendance of the parties. If they are not approved, the parties must attend on the Wednesday.

The Julius Stone Institute of Jurisprudence based in the Faculty of Law of the University of Sydney is holding a conference from Thursday,ï¿½5 July to Saturday, 7 July to mark the centenary of the birth of Julius Stone.ï¿½

The conference will be opened by the Honourable Murray Gleeson, the chief justice of Australia.ï¿½

There will be a wide selection of papers presented at the conference by both local, interstate and international scholars in the fields of jurisprudence, sociology of law, and international law, reflecting the diverse interests of Julius Stone in law and legal theory.ï¿½ There will be a conference dinner on the Saturday night.

Attendance at the conference requires registration.ï¿½ Further details, and registration forms can be obtained online from the Julius Stone Institute web site.

The Bar Association's webï¿½site now has a page called ChamberLinks, which lists those chambers with their own web site.ï¿½If your chambers has a web site, but does not appear on the list, please contact webmaster@nswbar.asn.au

The free services that have been provided for many years by AustLII (the Australian Legal Information Institute) are in danger of being seriously degraded because of a significant shortfall in recurrent funding.

The president of the Law Council, Tim Bugg, has written a letter to members of the profession encouraging them to take the opportunityï¿½to make a contribution to AustLII. Readï¿½the Law Councilï¿½letter >>

The Bar Association's home page already features a link to the AustLII contribution form.

The president of the Bar Association, Michael Slattery QC, has written to state and federal authorities concerning security arrangements that will be in force during the Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation (âAPECâ) Conference in September 2007.

Media reports suggest that police and security personnel may require workers to produce special identification, such as an employerâs letter or similar credentials, in order to establish a âlegitimate reasonâ to gain access to âdeclaredâ APEC security zones in the Sydney CBD during the conference period.

The New South Wales Bar Association is a member of the APEC Working Group concerning court sittings during the conference period, which has been convened by the New South Wales Attorney Generalâs Department. Although the precise location of the restricted areas has not been finalised, the association has been advised that access to the northern part of the CBD is likely to be restricted from King Street to Circular Quay and the Rocks.

This area would include not only the Law Courts Building and surrounds, but a large number of barristersâ chambers in and around Phillip Street.

âThe association recognises the need for special security arrangements to apply during the APEC conference periodâ said Mr Slattery. âHowever, it is in the interests of all citizens that any disruption caused by these arrangements for the court system is minimisedâ.

The Bar Association has requested that, if special credentials are to be required, police and security personnel should be authorised to accept the associationâs photo ID card as sufficient identification to enable them to access restricted areas for the purposes of their work.

At present, a New South Wales Bar Association photo ID card is accepted by the Department of Corrective Services to enable access to prisons.

Mr Beveridge has been reappointed as a licensing magistrate, effective 1 July 2007 - 30 June 2008.

Messrs Brahe, Cleary and Gilmore have been reappointed as part-time members of the Victims Compensation Tribunal, and Mr Brahe has been reappointed as chairperson of the tribunal, effective 1 July 2007 - 30 June 2008.

Furthermore, Mr Miller has been reappointed as an industrial magistrate, effective 1 July 2007 - 30 June 2008.

Legal Aid NSW have increased private practitioner fees.ï¿½ The fees increase recognises the valuable contribution of the private profession by moving towards consistency across the jurisdictions and maintaining Legal Aid NSWâs commitment to making legal aid more accessible to the community of NSW.

Effective 1 July 2007, the fees payable to private practitioners will increase to a base hourly rate of $150 per hour or an equivalent percentage increase applied to fees already above the base rate.

The increase will apply to grant approvals made on or after 1 July 2007 for state crime and state family law cases and state and commonwealth duty matters.ï¿½

For state civil law cases, the increase will apply to work done on or after 1 July 2007.

Note

The state civil law âsuccessful rateâ (The rate paid to state civil law practitioners who secure costs in a costs jurisdiction) will be maintained at the current rates.

At this time, Legal Aid NSW does not have available funding to extend the increases and allowances to commonwealth matters, beyond duty matters.

On Thursday, 21 June 2007 the Bar Association held an informal function for lawyers who are members of the New South Wales Parliament. The annual event helps to enhance the already close working relationship between the Bar and the state's elected representatives.

The Hon Justice Heydon AC and a group of judges, barristers and solicitors who were close to the Late Justice Peter Hely have a launched an appeal to raise funds in memory of his Honour.ï¿½ To work with Peter Hely was to have the privilege of working with one of the great legal intellects of our time.ï¿½ He was held in the highest regard by all who knew him.ï¿½ What is proposed for this memorial is a visiting distinguished scholar scheme and scholarships for undergraduates at the University of Sydney.ï¿½

Those who have made contributions will receive a formal update from Sydney University in July setting out the amount of those contributions.ï¿½ It is anticipated that an award will be made from the earnings of the fund during the coming financial year.

The Legal Profession Act 2004ï¿½ is amended byï¿½the Legal Profession Further Amendment Act 2006.ï¿½ _Schedules 2 and 3 of the amending Act will commence on 1 July 2007 (the amendments contained in schedule 1ï¿½commenced on 7 December 2006). _The Legal Profession Amendment Regulation 2007 (which amends the Legal Profession Regulation 2005) will also commence on 1 July 2007.ï¿½Barristers should familiarise themselves with the amendments, and in particular those relating toï¿½costsï¿½& barristerâs fees.

Some amendments to note:

Barristerâs Costs in Advance (as from 1 July)

Section 252 of the Legal Profession Act 2004 will be amended. It will be headed âBarristers not to receive trust moneyâ and the section will provide âA barrister is not, in the course of practising as a barrister, to receive trust moneyâ.

There are amendments to the definition of âtrust moneyâ and section 243 will provide âtrust money means money entrusted to a law practice in the course of or in connection with the provision of legal services by the practice, and includes:

(a) money received by the practice on account of legal costs in advance of providing the services, and â¦..â

[note âlaw practiceâ is defined in s4 of the LP Act to include âan Australian legal practitioner who is a sole practitionerâ and thus a barrister is a law practice within the meaning of the Act]

Clause 178 of the Legal Profession Regulation 2005 "Barristers may receive costs in advance"will be deleted.

Clause 106A will be added to the LP Regulation and will provide:
ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½ï¿½
106A Receipt of trust money by barrister (section 252 of the Act)â exclusion under section 246 (3) of the Act
Part 3.1 of the Act does not apply to trust money received and held by a barrister if the money is received by the barrister on account of legal costs for legal services in advance of the
provision by the barrister of the legal services, in the following circumstances:
(a) the barrister is practising as a sole practitioner and the money is received in connection with instructions accepted by the barrister directly from a person who is not a solicitor,
(b) the money is deposited, within a reasonable time, after the barrister receives the money, in an account maintained with an ADI in connection with the barrister's law practice,
(c) the money remains deposited in that or another account maintained with an ADI in connection with the barristerâs law practice until:

(i) a bill is given to the client, or
(ii) the money is refunded to the client, or
(iii) the money is paid to a solicitor who is later engaged by the client in the matter.

[note âADIâ is defined in s4 of the LP Act as âADI means an authorised deposit-taking institution within the meaning of the Banking Act 1959 of the Commonwealth.â Authorised deposit taking institutions are listed on the APRA web site at www.apra.gov.au/adi/

Bills

Section 309 of the LP Act requires disclosure of costs to clients and s333 requires a bill to include or be accompanied by a notification of clientâs rights. The Legal Profession Further Amendment Act amends the sections and in each case makes provision for the use of prescribed forms. Amendments to the LP Regulation will add clause 109A and Schedule 5 Form 2 âForm of disclosure of costs to clientsâ and clause 111A and Schedule 5 Form 3 âForm of notification of clientâs rightsâ.

In addition clause 111B is added to the Legal Profession Regulation 2005. It will set out in sub-clause (2), the particulars to be included in an itemised bill given by a barrister. Sub-clause (3) will require the particulars to be set out in a generally chronological order.

The Australian Bar Association will present Major Michael D Mori USMC with Honorary Membership at its Conference dinner on 29 June 2007.The award of honorary membership made for exceptional service to justice and the rule of law is due recognition of Major Moriâs passionate and fearless advocacy for Guantanamo Bay detainee David Hicks.ï¿½More information >>

Dale Kemp will be sworn in as a federal magistrate on Friday, 20 July at 4.30pm in the full court, Level 7 Lionel Bowen Building, 97 â 99 Goulburn St, Sydney. AW Street SC will speak on behalf of the Bar.

Applications for appointment as senior counsel will open at the beginning of July and will close on 31 July.ï¿½ On Tuesday, 26 June at 5pm in the Bar Association Common Room the president will conduct a seminar for members of the Bar who wish to have more information about the process of applying for and the appointing of senior counsel. The president will discuss the Senior Counsel Protocol and answer membersâ questions about the process at this seminar.

All interested members are welcome to attend. The seminar is not only open to those members who are considering applying for appointment as senior counsel this year but also for members considering making an application in future years who will find the seminar to be of value.

One of the most inspiring parts of being president of the Bar is to witness the personal generosity of the Barâs members and to see what you do for one other. You are exceptionally caring with your time and your professional skill for your clients, for fellow members of the Bar and for the wider community. I am writing now because at some times it is your financial support which is needed as well.

At the recent Bench and Bar dinner, I asked all present to remember the Barâs own charities, the Barristersâ Benevolent Fund and the Indigenous Barristers Trust, The Mum Shirl Fund at this time of the year. I seek your further financial support of these important charities operated through the association.

Special demands have recently been placed on the resources of the Barristerâs Benevolent Fund. I cannot recall a time on Bar Council when so many of our members have reported suffering some kind of mental illness.ï¿½ This is a problem which I expect affects the Bar no less than other parts of Australian society.ï¿½ The precise problem for many of these barristers is often a depressive illnesses exacerbated by the stresses of professional life.ï¿½ This is one of the factors which has led to an increase in the number and value of claims on the fund.ï¿½ I wish to thank and recognise the members of the Bar who quietly support colleagues who are being treated for mental illness.ï¿½ In addition though, we need more financial support for the Benevolent Fund.

The Barristersâ Benevolent Fund also helps barristers or their families who encounter personal misfortune or require some form of assistance.ï¿½ In addition to mental illness, problems which have been addressed by the Barristersâ Benevolent Fund over past years include the consequences of sudden death, serious illness, accident, ongoing cancer treatment, HIV/AIDS and alcoholism. The support given often includes the families of members who have some special or serious financial need arising from one these misfortunes.

The Barâs other charity the Indigenous Barristersâ Trust - The Mum Shirl Fund is committed to assisting Indigenous law students during the course of their studies and ensuring the retention of indigenous graduates in the practice of the law, particularly at the Bar.

The trust was established in 2002 and is the first trust of its kind successfully created and administered by any legal professional body in Australia. The trust plays a pivotal role in ensuring that indigenous law students do not have to discontinue their studies due to an unexpected financial challenge as the result of sudden personal illness, a family illness or death or an accommodation emergency. These crises often lead to unexpected calls on the financial resources of indigenous students and graduates and in turn prejudice their ability to continue to study or to progress into the profession. The trust assists indigenous graduates to overcome similar financial challenges in the course of their transition to the Bar.

A donation form for both these funds will be distributed to members via clerks or heads of chambers and has also been placed on the associationâs web site for your convenience.

I am grateful to those who have already donated to the Barâs charities. Thank you for your consideration of my request and I look forward to your support.

The facility exists for a memberâs photo to be attached to âFind a Barristerâ on the web site. On Thursday, 10 April 2008, a professionalï¿½photographer will be on-site in the Common Room doing work for the Bar Association.

Between 2.30-3.30pm and 5.00-6.00pm he will be available to takeï¿½photographsï¿½of individual members for use on Find a Barrister or their personal web sites.

The Bar Association will meet the cost of having the photographer on site. Members may then purchase the required number, size and format of images direct from Murray Harris Photography, which charges a handling fee of $22 per frame (plus GST, delivered by e-mail) or $42 (plus GST, delivered via CD Rom).

In order to ascertain the demand for this service,ï¿½please send your name, member ID, chambers and preferred time-slot toï¿½Chris Winslow via e-mail: cwinslow@nswbar.asn.au

All practising certificate renewal documentation and payment should have been received by the Bar Association by 6pm on Thursday, 7 June 2007. If you have not yet sent in your documentation and payment it is overdue. The statutory late fee now applies. More information >>

The following members of the Bar Association received Queen's Birthday honours in the Order of Australia:

The Hon Justice Kim Santow: Officer of the Order of Australia (AO)ï¿½- For service to the judiciary and to the law; to education, particularly in the area of university governance, and to the arts.

Naida Haxton AM: Member of the Order of Australia (AM) - For service to the legal profession and to the judiciary, particularly as the Editor of the New South Wales Law Reports and as a practitioner and educator.